The White Tara embroidered thangka’s main design is based on a work by Tibetan thangka painting master Migmar Tsering. I mainly used the Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols by Robert Beer for the details and meanings.

Embroidered Thangka

More details and close-ups:

The eight auspicious substances

The right hand giving the boon-granting mudra, the left hand the mudra of giving refuge.

The White Tara holds a lotus, which grows from the dark murky lakes but remains pure.

The red sun symbolizes the feminine aspect of wisdom, while the white moon represents the male aspect of method or compassion.

For those interested to see the back part.

Selfie on sisha glass

I am not Tibetan, nor am I a practicing Buddhist, but I read texts on Buddhist philosophy and way of life.

The theme for this year´s German Lace Guild competition is “The Circle”. This 2011 the guild is celebrating its 25th year of existence.

I got inspired by how everything is connected and how we hurt ourselves if we hurt everything else in nature, including our fellow human beings. The intertwining of stylized acanthus plant in ornamental designs reminds me of this complex network.

This ring pillow is my gift to my friends and former housemates for their wedding. I have to finish the work in less than week and hope that the parcel will reach Manila at least a few days before the wedding day. Right after finishing the Golden Circle, I set up to work on this project.

I researched online on ring pillows, and decided to create something unique. I once saw online a picture of a royal ceremony, where the “necklace” or “crown” was presented on a box like cushion, embroidered with gold. So I thought why not make a ring cushion box instead of a traditional pillow.

Since I am starting to appreciate the ornamental aspect of decorative arts, I combined ornamental elements and chose the monograms as the center focus of the design.